The Duchess of Sussex could be taking a glamorous break from her maternity leave this month to join her husband at the glittering premiere of The Lion King in London. Last week Buckingham Palace confirmed that Harry will walk the red carpet along with stars including Beyoncé, Sir Elton John, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Pharrell Williams, who has produced five songs for the soundtrack of the remake of the classic Disney movie.
HELLO! has learnt that Meghan is keen to be at her husband's side at what promises to be one of the most star-studded events of the year when it takes place in London's Leicester Square on 14 July. However, a final decision on Meghan's appearance will be taken closer to the date of the premiere, with much depending on how she is feeling, given she is still on maternity leave and therefore making plans day-to-day with baby Archie, her number one priority.
The premiere will support the conservation work carried out by Prince Harry through his work with The Royal Foundation – an organisation he set up with his elder brother Prince William in 2009.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe special outing for the new parents has great significance as they enjoyed a date at the West End stage production of The Lion King in December 2016, early in their relationship.
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Harry has cited The Lion King as his favourite Disney film and Sir Elton John, who composed the musical along with Sir Tim Rice, is a close friend.
Sir Elton even performed Circle of Life as one of at the royal couple's wedding reception to 600 guests at Windsor Castle last year.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe new film, directed by Jon Favreau and produced by Walt Disney Pictures is a photorealistic computer-animated remake of the 1994 animated film and stars Donald Glover as Simba, a lion who is crown prince of the Pride Lands, James Earl Jones as his father Mufasa and Beyoncé as Nala, Simba's childhood best friend and future love.
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In February Beyoncé paid a public tribute to the Duchess when she and husband Jay Z accepted the Brit Award for Best International Group as The Carters.
They filmed their acceptance speech in front of a portrait of Meghan by the artist Tim O’Brien, which they turned to face after thanking fans.
Posting on Instagram later, Beyoncé wrote: "In honor(sic) of Black History Month, we bow down to one of our Melanated Monas. Congrats on your pregnancy! We wish you so much joy."
Announcing Harry’s attendance at the Premiere last week, Buckingham palace revealed that the Royal Foundation would be supporting Protect the Pride, a global conservation campaign launched by The Walt Disney Company to help protect Africa's lion population.
Since The Lion King was released 25 years ago, half of the continent's lions have disappeared due to poaching and destruction of their habitats.
